Bharti Walmart Cash-and-Carry Wholesale Stores to be named "BestPrice Modern Wholesale"

“BestPrice Modern Wholesale” stores, a one-stop-shop will offer multiple benefits of price, convenience, choice, quality and hygiene for Business to Business customers

Registration for membership by bonafide retailers and business owners in Punjab now open

NEW DELHI, February 2, 2009: Bharti Walmart Private Limited (Bharti Walmart), the joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Walmart Stores Inc for wholesale, Business to Business, cash-and-carry and back-end supply chain management operations in India, today announced that its self-service wholesale stores will be named “BestPrice Modern Wholesale.”

Scheduled to open in Punjab 2009, membership registration for “BestPrice Modern Wholesale” stores by bonafide business owners has begun and 50,000 – 65,000 business owners are expected to benefit from the membership. Offering the advantage of best fixed and fair prices with unmatched convenience, choice, quality and hygiene, the stores will be open exclusively to business owners, not end-consumers. The “BestPrice Modern Wholesale” store will be a one-stop shop that meets the day-to-day needs of traders, restaurant owners, hoteliers, caterers, fruit and vegetable resellers, kiranas, other retail store owners, offices and institutions.

A wide range of 6,000 to 10,000 products, including food and non-food items, will be available at favourable wholesale prices, allowing retailers and business owners to increase their efficiencies and lower their cost of operations. Over 90% of these goods and services are expected to be sourced locally thereby helping keep costs to a minimum, adding to the growth of the local economy and creating job opportunities, with each cash and carry store directly employing over 170 local people.

Mr Raj Jain, Managing Director and CEO, Bharti Walmart Pvt. Ltd. Said, “When we announced the JV in August 2007 year we gave ourselves a window of 18-24 months to launch our first wholesale cash-and-carry store. We are firmly on track and we have begun registration of membership in Punjab in advance of the store opening to enable us to better forecast and serve the needs our commercial customers.”

Mr Jain added, “Following careful market research, the BestPrice Modern Wholesale store name reflects what business owners can expect at our self-service stores -- best, fixed and fair prices for a wide assortment and variety of high quality merchandise that will help them better serve their customers so that they can save money and live better.”

Mr. Rajan Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises said, "We are pleased that the Bharti-Walmart partnership is bringing in developments in the modern retailing sector that will add significantly to the growth of this sector in India. The JV's focus has been to put in place a robust back-end infrastructure driven by world-class processes and technologies. With this venture, we propose to bring great value on the one hand to farmers, artisans and small & big manufacturers and on the other hand to retailers, kirana stores, and big & small businesses that will have access to better quality products at favourable prices. With our Cash & Carry stores, many businesses from across the country will benefit from our efficiencies to add value to their business."

The assortment, service and store layout of “BestPrice Modern Wholesale” store will be customised to the specific needs of commercial customers who can walk in to the store and source high quality products in the quantities they need and at the time they require, all under one roof.

For example, a kirana store, otherwise hard pressed for space, can take advantage of the “BestPrice Modern Wholesale” store by using it as their warehouse, thus freeing up their capital for their businesses rather than lock it up in inventory.

Hotel and restaurant owners will get the opportunity to buy the best quality fresh produce on a daily basis including a wide assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products as well as hygienically cleaned fish and meat. By ensuring they receive a regular supply of fresh produce, hotel and restaurant owners can focus on their core business of providing exciting menus that please their customers. Special attention is being focused on hygiene and sanitation conditions both at the stores as well as by suppliers so that customers are assured about the quality and hygiene standards.

The Bharti Walmart JV has already opened a Distribution Centre near Chandigarh and more distribution centres, each catering to facilities located within a distance of 100-150 km, are expected to be opened in due course. These Distribution Centres will service both the cash-and-carry stores as well as large retailers like Bharti Retail. The JV is expected to open 10 to 15 wholesale cash-and-carry facilities and employ approximately 5,000 people over the next seven years.

About Bharti Walmart Private LimitedBharti Walmart Private Limited is a business-to-business (B2B) joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Walmart for wholesale cash-and-carry and back-end supply chain management operations in India to serve small retailers, manufacturers and farmers. The joint venture (JV) has already set up a Distribution Centre in Punjab which will partly service the merchandise needs of the JV’s cash-and-carry stores as well as retail stores around the area, including Bharti Retail’s wholly owned Easy Day stores. The JV is scheduled to launch its first B2B wholesale cash-and-carry store in northern India in 2009. A typical cash-and-carry store will stand between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet and sell a wide range of fruits and vegetables, groceries, footwear, clothing and other general merchandise items. The JV is expected to open 10 to 15 wholesale cash-and-carry facilities and employ approximately 5,000 people over the next seven years.